Lucinda Roy, Alumni Distinguished Professor in Creative Writing at Virginia Tech, has received the first annual Zenobia Lawrence Hikes Award.

The award was created in memory of Zenobia Lawrence Hikes, who served as vice president of student affairs at Virginia Tech from 2005 until her death in 2008. In her three years at the university, Hikes made numerous contributions to the quality of student life on campus, including the establishment of Hokie Camp.

One of Hikes’ daughters, Amber, presented Roy with the award at the fifth annual Faculty Women of Color in the Academy Conference. More than 450 women in higher education attended the conference, which was held at Virginia Tech on April 2 and 3.

The Zenobia Lawrence Hikes Award recognizes a woman of color with a distinguished career in higher education demonstrated by scholarly endeavors or administrative and professional accomplishments. The awardee is also an engaged member of her campus and community, with a history of advancing the development of young women of color as they pursue their education and prepare for careers in the academy and beyond.

A novelist, poet, and nonfiction writer, Roy has authored six books. Among her literary awards are the Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s statewide Outstanding Faculty Award, and a Discover Great New Writers selection from Barnes and Noble. In 2000, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Richmond.